Elon Musk, the tech billionaire tapped by US President Donald Trump to lead an effort to cut costs in the federal government, said the United States has "failed" without budget cuts.
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Elon Musk took particular aim at the country's budget deficit, which topped $1.8 trillion (€1.74 trillion) in the last fiscal year.
"It's not an option" for Washington to cut federal spending, he told reporters. "It's essential."
The billionaire also said there are good people in the federal bureaucracy, but they need to be held accountable. He called the bureaucracy the "unelected" fourth branch of government. Musk is also unelected and works for a part of the federal government.
The billionaire appeared with Trump in the Oval Office as the president prepared to sign an executive order regarding the billionaire's job at the head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Musk's comments come as the Trump administration is locked in a dispute with the US courts, with federal judges questioning the legality of the White House's cost-cutting measures.